More Happywhale Returns - 1/11/2025

     After Christmas I went on a fishing trip and photographed several humpback whales during the day.  I submitted some of the better photos to Happywhale.com for possible individual identification.  Barely a week later I received an email that one of the whales had been identified as Saucer.  Saucer is at least seven years old as it was first photographed in 2017.  Saucer's sex and exact age have not yet been determined.

The other day I received another email from Happywhale stating that two more of my whales have been identified.  One whale is named Wizard.  Wizard is a female at least 12 years old.  She was first recorded in 2012 off Maine.  The other whale does not have a name yet but is identified with a catalog number.  This whale's identification is HDRVAMn033.  The sex of this whale has not been determined yet.  It is at least nine years old.  It was first recorded in 2015 off of Virginia.
Wizard, 12/27/2024.    © S. Weiss

HDRVAMn033, 12/27/2024.  © S. Weiss

Aside from these two whales, the email also informed me that another whale I photographed was new to their database.  The whale, its sex and age are not known, was added to the catalog with the identifier GOM-2117.  This whale will be monitored like all the others in the catalog.  Its movements will be recorded with every new sighting sent to the researchers.  Hopefully, shipboard scientists will be able to gather more information on this whale and determine its age and sex.
GOM-217, 12/27/2024.  © S. Weiss

GOM-217 as it passed our boat, prior to displaying its tail flukes.  © S. Weiss

Each whale may have more than one identification number.  Several organizations track and catalog whales and each of those has its own identification system.  The beginning set of letters in the catalog ID signifies the specific organization assigning that number to its own catalog.  For example, GOM-2117 is from the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog.  Also, Wizard has two catalog IDs: NA-0997 and GOM-Wizard.  NA is for the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalog.  Saucer has four identifiers:  NA-13012, HDRVAMn202, HW-MN0101523 and GOM-Saucer.  HDRVAMn202 comes from a U. S. Navy project in Virginia.  HDR is the contracted company managing the project, VA is for Virginia and Mn is for Megaptera novaeangliae (the scientific name for humpback whale).  HW-MN comes from Happywhale’s humpback whale collection.

I follow all of my humpback whales through Happywhale.  They notify me of any new sightings and locations of the whales that they receive from other contributors.  I can also follow North Atlantic right whales that I submitted to the NA Right Whale Catalog at rwcatalog.neaq.org.  Birding is a fun hobby, but following the whales as individuals offers a more personal touch. 

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